Generations Z in Europe

Europe currently displays a fascinating complexity. It experiences severe disruptions in the economic and educational systems, the labour markets and the political orientation. Also, we see demographic issues with not enough young people on the one hand, and also not enough acceptable jobs on the other hand. All this raises questions regarding the consequences resulting from these dynamics for the young generation. This chapter deals in particular with the so-called ‘Generation Z’, which started – depending on the chosen author – between 1990 and 1995. In this analysis, the concept of ‘generation’ by Karl Mannheim plays an important role since it explains to us why and how cohorts of people are shaped in a specific period of time in a very similar way. When dealing with Generation Z, the following hypothesis of global convergence immediately comes up: since Generation Z is a digitally connected generation, it must move in the same direction. Even though this is partially true on the global scale, we see differences – even within Europe, since Europe is a heterogeneous space. Therefore, we cannot talk about ‘the European Generation Z’ but rather about the ‘Generations Z in Europe’ with their differences, their similarities and their dreams about their future. Besides arriving at the letter ‘Z’ in Generation Z by just continuing from X and Y to Z, the ‘Z’ provides us another interpretation: It stands for ‘zeitgeist’ and for a promising vision of Europe.

Due to the recovery of the quality of life coming from a real estate boom and due to the extensive possibilities for leisure and work, the young generation in Spain looks with more optimism into the future as did generations before. Still, Spain is a nation with low employment prospects. This puts many professionals in a difficult position, having to sacrifice family relations for a better job. Another problem is the rate of university degrees, which is over the European average. Therefore, Generation Z has higher goals for their lives than previous generations. One of the traditional problems is that young people get high marks in their professional degrees but have a lack of employability skills and are therefore not always success in their first apprenticeship contract with companies. Generation Z has social skill problems with respect to empathy, communication and conflict management. Due to their digital style of life, they have substituted the gregarious relationships leisure for the bedroom culture of social networks.

Research on the characteristics of Generation Z in the United Kingdom is sparse and thus this generation is largely unknown. However, it is likely that the characteristics of Generation Z in the United Kingdom largely represent a continuation of the trends in attitudes and expectations seen over Generations X and Y. This is a group that has grown up to have high expectations of employment, including a desire for interesting and meaningful work, regular feedback, employee voice and participation, work–life balance and the development of marketable skills. As this cohort of the population was born into an environment with Web 2.0 technology and social media, they are also constantly connected. However, in the past two years, this group has continued its development against the backdrop of political and economic uncertainty due to the United Kingdom’s forthcoming exit from the European Union. More research is needed in order to establish the impact of these events on the younger generation’s attitudes, and those of subsequent age cohorts.

France has a long historic heritage with two world wars: the First World War (1914–1918) and the Second World War (1939–1945). Most people associate French culture with Paris, which is a centre of fashion, luxury, cuisine, art and architecture, but life outside of Paris is very different in its 96 regions. Concerning demographic and economic aspects, people aged between 15 and 24 accounted for 11.79 per cent of the total French population. France is currently the 22nd most competitive economic country in the world, with a high unemployment rate (24%) among those aged 18 to 25 through, which can explain why the French Generation Z is the most pessimistic about the future in Europe (with a score of 59%). Extremism and global terrorism (81%) are thought to be the greatest threats for the future by the young French people, from which the ‘Generation Bataclan’ got its name to refer to French young, open-minded demographic population traumatised by terrorist attacks. Parents are a pillar for the French Generation Z, with 89 per cent of them reporting that their parents influence the values they hold. Beyond the personal and familial sphere, Generation Z requires a reconsideration of management in the workplace. According to a 2017 ‘Gen Z management’ study conducted among 2,300 French young people (Gentina & Delécluse, 2018), the main important criteria for their future careers are ‘working as a team’ (28.8%), ‘developing skills’ (28.4%) and ‘challenging varied roles’ (16.2%). Moreover, 60 per cent of the French Generation Z reveal that they choose face-to-face meetings as their preferred form of communication, as opposed to emailing (16%) or instant messaging (11%).

Besides other facts about the Dutch Generation Z, the focus of this chapter of Generation Z research in the Netherlands is aimed on what their fresh updates are in aging Dutch organisations and institutions. Approximately 85 per cent of Dutch companies and institutions are aging spectacularly and will do so until 2035! In the coming decades, the oldest working generations will be the largest, and the younger ones the smallest. These aging organisations need the updates of the youngest generation to stay vital and in a good social, economic and ecological health. Successive generations form horizontal layers in every culture. They play a key role in the evolution of the culture of which they are a part. This can be seen as a natural function of every generation. However, this chapter is mainly about Generation Z and a little bit about the other Dutch generations at work.

Several contradictions emerge in the ways in which Generation Z in Italy is, on the one hand, represented in public arenas and common sense and, on the other, when we look to the issues they face in confronting the socio-economic structure around them. This chapter specifically situates these emerging representations within the socio-economic scenario Generation Z lives in. We do this by interrogating statistical data – mainly ISTAT and Instituto Toniolo dataset. The overall picture sees Generation Z as not sharply different from the Millennials: it is a generation for which some structural constraints have been revealed already, but in respect to which they will face sharper conditions. Overall, we argue that statistical sources suggest that Generation Z is less worried about its future than it could be. The impact of the relative protective shell in which young people of this age find themselves has a role in this: one that is very much embedded in Italian culture and tradition. We conclude the chapter by conveying the idea that current Generation Z seems to be living in a soap bubble. By this we mean that the protection they enjoy and the somewhat positiveness with which they look at their future are due to disappear once they are constrained to deal with their responsibility outside of the family protection, in private life and in the labour market. Therefore the bubble that we see is specifically a soap bubble, given that it is likely to dissolve itself soon.

Generation Z in Germany – born after 1995 – follows in many ways similar trends to be seen in other countries. Contrary to Generation Y, it is less career-focussed, less keen on financial rewards and less willing to work flexible in a competitive world with total work–life blending. They look for structure, security and feeling good. What is different: Germany is one of the few countries in the world in which Generation Z in many cases can live up to their dreams. Germany has a prospering economy, a stable society and still a good educational system. Most important, for young people, it has an unemployment rate of virtually zero per cent. Therefore, companies definitely must engage in the war for talents and provide Generation Z with a fitting employer value proposition: Generation Z looks for meaningful and exciting work but seeks also meaning and excitement in private lives. In particular, they demand a clear separation of their private lives from their job. All this stands in contrast to the ambitions of the industrial sector in Germany promoting a more Generation Y-type environment with flexibility, agility and work–life blending. This conflict is not dealt with in an open way, since politics and media stand on the side of the large companies. Still, the power of Generation Z is not to be underestimated. Therefore, the chapter leaves it for the future to find out whether the Generation Z or other forces will win.

Serbian Generation Z originates from South-east Europe. They are a part of a nation that has always been divided between the East and the West and has experienced a constant transition (economic, cultural and political) for the last couple of decades. In Serbia, Generation Z has been under the same influences as elsewhere in the world – globalisation, technology and rapid development of the Internet have greatly influenced it and it could be said that the influence has not ceased to exist. Nevertheless, apart from the aforementioned, the representatives of the Generation Z in Serbia have faced some additional challenges during their childhood, and this distinguishes them from all the other European representatives of this generation: family (still being the backbone of Serbian society), religion, wars and their collective memory of it, as well as economy-related turbulences. The research presented in this chapter was carried out with a goal to show the attitudes, opinions and characteristics of this generation. The chapter provides not only an insight into the mentioned phenomena but also some recommendations for parents, teachers, companies and politicians, as well as suggestions for future research.

The period of transition to democracy in which Generation Z members in Bulgaria grew up was characterised by profound changes in the economic and social system of the country, with frequent episodes of chaos and instability resulting in a long-term demographic decline. At the same time, the years of their adolescence have been marked by globalisation processes and the rapid development of digital technologies opening countless opportunities for work, study and travel to this group of young people.

Although research on Generation Z in Bulgaria is scarce, in this chapter, we have attempted to draw a portrait of the typical representative of the young generation based on the results of a couple of empirical surveys. Decreasing social orientation, less focus on sustaining interpersonal relationships and lower self-confidence and initiative are among our most remarkable observations making this generation of young people rather different than previous ones. Furthermore, Generation Z members were found to be quite demanding at work requiring stress-free working conditions, good work–life balance, opportunities for competency development and adequate pay from employers. This certainly creates a serious challenge for Bulgarian employers who might have to change their standard human resource practices in order to attract and retain the potential of this new group of employees. Generation Z members could be a source of innovation, meaningfulness and flexibility for the Bulgarian labour market and because of that they certainly need to be studied in more detail.

Russia seems to be a separate phenomenon for researchers and scientists in Europe. It happens due to several facts: the country emerged from the Soviet Union quite recently, has a huge territory that extends also to the East and leads not only to all kinds of diversity but also to a strong divide in the society. All of the above affects any research held in Russia.

With a total population of around 145 million Generation Z amounts only 35 million people. Unlike some European countries, Russian Generation Z is considered to be born in 2000. That leads us to two important points. First, this generation was born in Russian Federation and its members do not identify themselves with Soviet Union in any way. Second, they were raised at permanent Putin’s presidency, meaning he was the main ruler of the country since 2000, so Generation Z in Russia may be justly called ‘The Putin Generation’.

This chapter offers three key conclusions. First of all, Generation Z in the European sense (technologically educated progressive young people) can only be discovered in the largest cities in Russia. The other part of the country might not be representative due to the lower level of living, digital divide and lack of changings. Second, the impact of traditions and traditional values in the society still forms the public opinion even among the youngsters. Third, the Generation Z in Russia might be called the generation of contradictions according to the results of focus groups and public surveys.